PUNISHER
(Earth-31380)

Real Name: Frank Castle (full first name possibly Francis - see comments)

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-31380) human

Occupation: Detective, vigilante

Group Membership: New York City Police Department

Affiliations: None

Enemies: Criminals of any sort

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile through New York City, New York, USA

First Appearance: (intended) The Punisher television series (announced in 2011)

Powers/Abilities: Presumably, the Punisher did not possess any superhuman abilities, but was skilled in the use of weapons and had sufficient skills and experience to work as a police detective.

Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed

History:
(Unproduced The Punisher television series) - Frank Castle was a rising star NYPD detective who operated by night as the vigilante Punisher, seeking justice for those failed by the system.

Comments: Created by Ed Bernero.

    In 2011, The Punisher television series was announced for Fox, with Ed Bernero as showrunner, and it was reported that the project had been given a put pilot commitment. Although the series was slated to air on a (then) non-Disney network, it was to be produced by Disney-owned ABC Studios. In 2012, it was officially announced that the series had been canceled. The Punisher in this series would have been the fourth live-action incarnation of the character. A few years later, the Punisher finally appeared on the small screen, played by Jon Bernthal. The character appeared in the MCU television series Marvel's Daredevil and received his own spin-off series in 2017.

    In the official description, the character's history differs radically from that of the comics and other realities, and the plot of a police department member engaging in vigilante justice is clearly inspired by Dexter. Death of the family that prompted Castle in most incarnations to become a vigilante is not mentioned at all and, given that no further details about the series have been revealed, it is unknown whether the family death played a role in his backstory.

    Interestingly, around the same time, a series based on DC's Spectre was in development for Fox but it was also canceled. As for Ed Bernero, The Punisher isn't the first Marvel project he's been involved with—he's currently working on the upcoming Disney+ Nova series.

    Since an actor for the role of the Punisher had not been cast and it's unclear who the production team had in mind for the role, the character's hair and eye color, height, and weight remain unrevealed. It's assumed his full first name is Francis, as in the comics.

    This profile was completed 02/25/2026 but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25^th Anniversary's celebratory event.

Profile by Mike Castle.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-31380's Punisher should be distinguished from:

• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) - his Earth-616 counterpart--Amazing Spider-Man I#129
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-1610 - a comic book version of the character who worked for the NYPD before becoming a vigilante--Ultimate Marvel Team Up I#6
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-6160 - a comic book version of the character who worked for the NYPD before becoming a vigilante--Ultimates III#2
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-17127 - variant of the Punisher-199999 glimpsed in a nightmare; this counterpart of Castle became a subject of the internet memes--Marvel's The Punisher television series episode "The Judas Ghost"
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-39669 - variant of the Punisher-199999 glimpsed in another nightmare--Marvel's The Punisher television series episode "3 AM"
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-47281 - the character's third live-action incarnation, portrayed by Ray Stevenson--Punisher: War Zone movie
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-58627 - the character's first live-action incarnation, portrayed by Dolph Lundgren; was a NYPD detective before becoming a vigilante--The Punisher (1989) movie
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle Jr.) of Earth-58732 - the character's second live-action incarnation, portrayed by Thomas Jane--The Punisher (2004 movie)
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-90126 -  a video game version of the character who worked for the NYPD before becoming a vigilante--The Punisher video game
  
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-90649 -  a comic book version of the character who worked for the NYPD before becoming a vigilante--The Punisher Movie Special I#1
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-95126 -  a comic book version of the character who worked for the NYPD before becoming a vigilante--Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe I#1
  
• PUNISHER (Frank Castle) of Earth-199999 - the character's fourth live-action incarnation, portrayed by Jon Bernthal--Marvel's Daredevil television series episode "Bang"
• other "Punisher" characters, groups, items, races or events
  

Appearances:
No images available

First posted: 09/27/2026
Last updated: 02/25/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and � 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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